I'm planning to upgrade my current PC, switching from a common ATX system to a brand new micro-ATX one in order to gain space on my desk The only thing I cannot decide on is which mobo I have to buy, there are so many Z77s that is impossible to be sure on purchasing!

The CPU I will use is my 2500K and gfx is a GTX 560 Ti atm, waiting for some more bucks to buy a 680... so the PC will be used first of all for gaming, then I'll do some OC but nothing really extreme - for example now I'm on 4,2 GHz and it is super

So... which mobo is the best for me? Fatal1ty Z77 Professional-M, G1.Sniper M3 or Maximus V Gene?

i've got the m5g in my vga bench system and haven't found anything wrong with it. there is no native dual link dvi, only dvi via hdmi adapter = single link. won't matter if you dont plan on using the integrated graphics.
edit: none of the three boards offer dual link dvi. looks like you can get high resolutions only via displayport

some huge cpu coolers might block access to the first slot (which is the one you want to use because it's the only one with pcie x16).

All offer similar features, but with their own take; that's a hard choice. I am pretty positive I will be reviewing both the Sniper M3 and the Gene board; I'll have reviews up in the coming weeks. ECS Z77H2-AX first, then Biostar TZ77XE4. Maybe Sniper M3 third. Just gotta wait for CPU.

Thanks
The only thing that makes me wonder is the 4-pin power connector on the Gigabyte, while the other 2 have an 8-pin one. Maybe the OC cannot be so rock solid?

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Seems like IVB can pull 225W+ under extreme clocks, but the power 1 4-pin CPU connector provides should be enough for daily usage. I think it's like 195W or something for single 4-pin, which is still twice what a 3rd Gen I7 chip needs TDP-wise.

The G1.Killer line from Gigabyte is not meant for extreme clocking, and is more intended for moderate clocking with extra features, like the audio and LAN chips that it uses. The Gene, on the other hand, is built for extreme clocking, but features thrown in for gaming as well. It's basically ready to run Liquid Nitrogen cooling, while Gigabyte has an entirely different product line for that.

Unfortunately i don't have any experience with AsRock products, so I cannot comment about them, or what the design focus seems to be.

Since your buying a -K i assume your going to OC so i would go with the Maximus V it will likely be the best outa the bunch for OC and quality as Gigabyte has been slipping lately and 4pin CPU power scares me.

Since your buying a -K i assume your going to OC so i would go with the Maximus V it will likely be the best outa the bunch for OC and quality as Gigabyte has been slipping lately and 4pin CPU power scares me.

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W1zz seems pretty happy with his Gene, and i think he's got a decent OC too, but I think that 4-pin power is really fine.

I am curious if you will be testing any of the upcoming Z77 boards that feature the PCH(?) chips (i.e. Asus Z77-WS and EVGA Z77 FTW) to allow for x16/x16/x8/x8 PCIe3.0 bandwidth?? I would really love to see how they compare to "regular" boards...
What I am most interested in is something like "GPU/GPU/Sound-Card/RAID-card" or similar, so that it can be compared against other 2-card SLI/CF boards but with the added toll of the Sound/RAID cards on the CPU...

The reason I ask is because I am really, really stuck between IVB and SB-E, with the latter having my attention pretty much solely because with a Rampage IV Extreme I could run 2-Way SLI (2x GTX680's/690's), an HT Omega Claro Halo (or professional-level sound card...I do sound editing), and a PCIe x8 RAID card (LSI/Promise/etc) that offers an extra 8-12 SATAIII ports and hardware RAID capabilities...
I would like to see what, if any, impact the two add-on cards would have on GPU performance, AND what impact the graphics cards would have on RAID and audio performance.
It's something that very much interests me and is very much relevant, likely to a number of people who are also looking at a power-gamer + workhorse all-in-one type-rig, same as myself.

I have come to find your reviews to be impeccably performed and extremely well-written, Cadaveca, and while I would not expect you to go out of your way to crunch all of those numbers, acquire all of that equipment, and so forth simply for my own curiosity, I can't help but imagine that there would be some demand for results showing how well the IVB chips and Z77 chipset work with the "PCIe Expansion Chips".

The lack of dual-link DVI was the problem. That means that 2560x1600 requires a DP-supporting monitor, or an active adapter. I tihnk W1zz has a 2560x1600 monitor that doesn't have DP.

Depth-of-field effect.

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btw, do you think the G1 Sniper M3 is a better alternative to the M5G?

i'm thinking of buying this to replace my Z68 board.
1. how does the Creative onboard audio quality compare to a dedicated Core3D card? i have an X-Fi titanium, and would like to play with the new driver.
2. How is the overclocking compared to M5G? especially because this board has less CPU power phases(right?). i will be keeping my 2600k.

btw, do you think the G1 Sniper M3 is a better alternative to the M5G?

i'm thinking of buying this to replace my Z68 board.
1. how does the Creative onboard audio quality compare to a dedicated Core3D card? i have an X-Fi titanium, and would like to play with the new driver.
2. How is the overclocking compared to M5G? especially because this board has less CPU power phases(right?). i will be keeping my 2600k.

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Couldn't tell ya, got boards, no 1155 chips to test with. Hopefully I'll have more info soon, but for now it's out of my hands.

I did a preview of the Sniper M3 board, should be live at some point, I guess.

the prices are down these days because of the Golden Week discounts in Japan. it might go up next week. shame that there aren't any reviews from major sites about the board.

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Not too sure why that is. I've had mine for quite some time now, just no chips, so reviews are some weeks out yet for me. I got six reviews to do with IVB so far, probably a couple more down the road too. Unitl I get a chip ,I'm sitting here waiting, can't do much without it.

I gotta agree with this 110% going on hardware deisgn and physical feel, for sure.

Not too sure why that is. I've had mine for quite some time now, just no chips, so reviews are some weeks out yet for me. I got six reviews to do with IVB so far, probably a couple more down the road too. Unitl I get a chip ,I'm sitting here waiting, can't do much without it.

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Tell Wiz to hand one over here to help out... looks like you have a backlog and Im finally coming out of mine!!!

Cadaveca I've just seen your preview and... oh gosh, I can't SLI in my micro-ATX case if using G1.Sniper M3, 'cause the third slot doesn't work with SB and my case has only 4 PCI-E slots! So... I think I MUST go with the Maximus V GENE, right?

i've got the m5g in my vga bench system and haven't found anything wrong with it. there is no native dual link dvi, only dvi via hdmi adapter = single link. won't matter if you dont plan on using the integrated graphics.
edit: none of the three boards offer dual link dvi. looks like you can get high resolutions only via displayport

some huge cpu coolers might block access to the first slot (which is the one you want to use because it's the only one with pcie x16).